Why waste a good crisis?

When does the character of a people weaken? I found the following answer in a book about the Roman Empire:

"When they give over to government those duties which they should be pleased to perform themselves. When they are told they will be fed and sheltered even when they won't work, when they are promised security from the cradle to the grave, when they are told the state will take over the supervision of their children and say what schooling they should receive and where. When they are told all these things and supinely accept them."

Once upon a time, Israel rejected the kingship of the Lord. The people got a fair warning of the consequences (see 1 Samuel 8). And so we pay---the government takes and takes and takes and takes. . . . The current economic crisis is tempting people to surrender much of their freedom for the promises of a leader who talks like a savior. But it also gives us a rare opportunity to rebuild the land of the free with recognition of our unalienable rights and the fact that all blessings do not flow from Congress.

Why waste a good crisis? A bunch of prudent colonists used a crisis to overthrow a tyrannical government and build a great nation. Lenin and Hitler used other crises and their charisma to enslave their people. Following the Great Depression, America has been slipping away from its founding principles of individual liberty toward a collectivist hell. Today may be our best chance to reverse that trend.

The freer the market environment, the better the fighting chances of poor, little, working Joes like me. Compare the United States with Latin America for proof. I'd rather not take the government's "helping" hand because it comes with shackles. Yes, my generation's lives may be harder than we were led to believe, but that's the price we pay for worshiping idols.

As a father I am willing to sacrifice for the future of my children. And that future will be much brighter if we turn this nation of welfare recipients once more into a nation of free entrepreneurs. Slaves and serfs can build beautiful palaces and breathtaking pyramids. Free people can accomplish much greater things.